Jervis Bay

Ever tried to identify a banksia plant? It’s not as easy as you might think. There are a lot of different types of banksias, but thankfully the Royal Botanic Garden’s PlantNet website will guide you through all of them. You must take into account the curvature of its styles, how toothy it is of leaf, and whether those leaves are pungent pointed. Oh, and is a lignotuber present?

I think this is a Banksia ericifolia.

My newfound interest in banksias is inspired by my son’s obsession with picking up and admiring their scattered cones, which are added daily to a growing collection stored carefully in our house. Recently, we went camping at Bristol Point, a beautiful spot in Booderee National Park at Jervis Bay, which just happens to be particularly rich with banksias. While in the area I couldn’t resist going back to Point Perpendicular, a climber’s haunt where 100 metre cliffs plunge into the crashing sea, just to take a nostalgic look and enjoy the atmosphere.

One of the best climbs at The Point, and certainly the best at the grade (17) - Gray Mist. Perfect gear, wild exposure, and the crux right at the top. It’s a ripper of a climb.

Recipe for exposure: 100 metres of air plus the crashing sea.

Windjammer Wall at Point Perpendicular.

The edge of the world above Gray Mist.

I love a good grass tree.

Point Perpendicular.

Bristol Point is a lovely campground set in beautiful forest near the beach. Weekends were unavailable for months when I booked us a spot, so it was a little surprising that when we were there it was relatively empty. We spent dusk on the beach, then returned to the campsite to settle in for a relaxing night of listening to thumping music from the next campsite and the people there yelling and drinking and yelling about drinking.

Dusk at Bristol Point.

Beach fun!

Bristol Point Beach.

#camplife #towel

From Bristol Point you can easily walk to another campground at Green Patch. The beach there has some of the most beautiful pale sand and clear water you’ll ever see, and when we were there it was warm enough to go for a swim. Little fish swam in the shallows and black cockatoos wailed over the gum forest that comes right down to the sand. After our swim we wandered slowly back to the campsite and packed up, before returning home to our apartment and our home collection of banksia cones.

Green Patch.

Green Patch Beach.

Yellow-tailed black cockatoos flying over Green Patch.